I remember this happening. Even though I was a “liberal” at the time, I saw what was happening to a decent woman and was very ashamed of the left. Perhaps it was a turning point for me.
I vaguely remember the "controversy" going on in the mid-seventies as a fairly sheltered early teen. I heard both sides of the characterization, and remembered that I was confused at which was correct, that she was defending righteousness or that she was a "bigot."