While the rumors of Antoinette's sexuality were unfounded, they led to her being interpreted as an early lesbian icon in works by gay authors, such as Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness (1928) and Jean Genet's The Maids (1947).
The unverified claims about Antoinette's sexual orientation sparked her portrayal as a pioneering figure in lesbian literature by gay writers such as Radclyffe Hall in The Well of Loneliness (1928) and Jean Genet in The Maids (1947).