Locke's influence as a feminist icon was duly acknowledged by the mainstream press. In 1989, Claudia Puig of the "Los Angeles Times" described her lawsuit against Clint Eastwood as a "precedent-setting legal case, as it raises the question of whether a woman, who is legally married to one man, can claim palimony rights from another." Childfree by choice – unusual for a person of her generation – Locke was among the first celebrities to publicly discuss her abortion experiences. The disclosure made Locke "a talking-point in America's sexual politics debate," according to "The Guardian"'s Peter Bradshaw. Locke's subsequent relationship with a doctor young enough to be her son added to her notoriety.