Grace Tame has blasted Anthony Albanese's apology for calling her "difficult", labelling the prime minister a "total coward" in a spray on social media.
Mr Albanese insists he meant to say the former Australian of the Year has had a difficult life, and praised her work advocating for victims of child sexual abuse.
"If there was any misinterpretation, then I certainly apologise," he told reporters on Thursday.
"Grace Tame, you certainly can't describe in one word. She has had a difficult life, and that was what I was referring to."
Ms Tame took to social media to condemn Mr Albanese's comments and his subsequent apology.
"Dude's quoting Scott (Morrison) now!!! 'She's had a difficult life'... Spare me the condescension, old man," she wrote in a comment on Instagram.
"A badge of honour anyway. A confession that I've ruffled him."
In a separate comment, Ms Tame said the apology was "a patronising cop out from a total coward".
The stoush started on Wednesday, when Mr Albanese was asked to describe Ms Tame in one word while speaking at a conference in Melbourne.
"Difficult," he said.
The prime minister also described Donald Trump as "president", Pauline Hanson as "divisive" and One Nation voters as "frustrated", but declined to describe Barnaby Joyce in a single word.
Ms Tame has previously had a good relationship with Mr Albanese, but regularly criticised his predecessor Scott Morrison, particularly over his handling of the rape of Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, which became public in 2021.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Mr Albanese's comments were unfortunate and it was appropriate that he'd apologised.
"Let's be honest, it's because of difficult women that we've had some of the most significant changes throughout history," she told reporters in Canberra.
"Rather than denigrating women for being difficult, we should be celebrating them."
Australian Associated Press