That was an affectation. She exaggerated the “Southern-ness” for benefit of the camera. She never would have been on the network unless she was liberal. Word is that even absent the “n” word, she was anything but polite and gracious off-camera. Still, she told the truth and apologized, it is a shame it ruined her career AND reinforced a nasty stereotype of Southern whites.
I guess it was easy for some of us to be fooled. We sure need those good Christian values to be portrayed more often than they are. What you say makes sense, however.