Margaret Atwood, the author of the dystopian classic The Handmaid's Tale, has come under fire after doubling down on her decision to sign a letter supporting a professor accused of sexual misconduct.

The feminist author, 78, was among dozens of writers whosigned a letter to University of British Columbia administrators in November 2016, calling for transparency in the firing of Steven Galloway.

Atwood defended her decision to sign the letter in an essay for the Globe and Mail on Saturday.

The Canadian said that she's been called a 'bad feminist' for insisting on due process for Galloway, the former chair of the creative writing program, and warned the dangers of letting justice for all fall by the wayside in favor of extreme feminism.

Margaret Atwood is under fire for doubling down on her decision to sign a letter defending a professor accused of sexual misconduct

Atwood is the author of the classic dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale, which was recently turned into a TV series starring Elizabeth Moss (left) and Alexis Bledel (right)

The circumstances surrounding Galloway's firing have never been fully explained by the university since he is still in a legal battle with them over his termination. And because Galloway signed a non-disclosure agreement, he hasn't been able to defend himself in the media.

It came to light though that a former student had accused Galloway of sexual assault. Galloway reportedly denied the claim, but admitted to having an affair with the student.

He was suspended from the school in November 2015, and then fired the following June when the university hired an outside investigator to look into the allegations.

Atwood is critical of how this all played out, calling UBC's justice system 'flawed'.

She says Galloway's reputation has been ruined, even though the public has no idea what crime he committed - if any.

In November 2016, Atwood signed a letter complaining about the way the University of British Columbia had treated former creative writing chair Steven Galloway (pictured)

'The public – including me – was left with the impression that this man was a violent serial rapist, and everyone was free to attack him publicly, since under the agreement he had signed, he couldn't say anything to defend himself,' she said.

She goes on to argue that supporting Galloway's right to due process is feminist, since a fair trial is something that everyone - both male and female - should be entitled to.

'I believe that in order to have civil and human rights for women there have to be civil and human rights, period, including the right to fundamental justice, just as for women to have the vote, there has to be a vote,' she said.

Atwood received a lot of criticism when she first compared Galloway's firing to the Salem witch trials.

She doubled down on that comparison, saying Galloway was essentially robbed of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

'This structure – guilty because accused – has applied in many more episodes in human history than Salem. It tends to kick in during the "Terror and Virtue" phase of revolutions – something has gone wrong, and there must be a purge, as in the French Revolution, Stalin's purges in the USSR, the Red Guard period in China, the reign of the Generals in Argentina and the early days of the Iranian Revolution. The list is long and Left and Right have both indulged,' she said.

Many criticized Atwood over her latest comments, saying that she again showed she cared more about an accused man than victims of sexual assault

She says this is a larger example of what's going on in the #MeToo movement, where people are being told to believe women no matter what - to give more credence to their stories than to the men they are accusing.

If the legal system is bypassed because it is seen as ineffectual, what will take its place? Who will be the new power brokers? It won't be the Bad Feminists like me. We are acceptable neither to Right nor to Left. Margaret Atwood

'The #MeToo moment is a symptom of a broken legal system. All too frequently, women and other sexual-abuse complainants couldn't get a fair hearing through institutions – including corporate structures – so they used a new tool: the internet. Stars fell from the skies.

'This has been very effective, and has been seen as a massive wake-up call. But what next? The legal system can be fixed, or our society could dispose of it,' Atwood says.

Atwood warns that the MeToo movement, like many other movements, is moving towards extremes, where people like herself are labeled 'bad feminists' if they don't toe the line completely.

'If the legal system is bypassed because it is seen as ineffectual, what will take its place? Who will be the new power brokers? It won't be the Bad Feminists like me. We are acceptable neither to Right nor to Left.

'In times of extremes, extremists win. Their ideology becomes a religion, anyone who doesn't puppet their views is seen as an apostate, a heretic or a traitor, and moderates in the middle are annihilated. Fiction writers are particularly suspect because they write about human beings, and people are morally ambiguous. The aim of ideology is to eliminate ambiguity,' she said.

Many were not pleased with Atwood's latest defense of the letter.

Critics quickly took to Twitter with their take downs, many saying that Atwood had again appeared more concerned with Galloway's reputation than with the injuries of the alleged victims.

Other Twitter users praised Atwood's essay, such as writer Roxane Gay, author of a short story collection called Bad Feminist

'Margaret Atwood's latest op-ed is a very, very clear reminded that old cis women are not to be trusted. They care more about poor widdle accused men than they do about actual f****** rape victims. They spend as much time advocating for rapists as they do attacking victims,' one user wrote.

Another user added: 'Margaret Atwood has been told - repeatedly, in person, with compassion and without rancour - the painful & chilling effect of her involvement with UBC Accountable. She has been told of specific instances of pain, and given additional details wrt the case [sic]. She knows. She doesn't care.'

Others supported Atwood's remarks though, praising Atwood's defense of justice for all.

'Genuinely upsetting to see Margaret Atwood attacked for pointing out that "innocent until proven guilty" is the key to a civilised society. That has to still be a thing, yes? How can that suddenly be a bad thing,' one Twitter user asked.

Roxanne Gay, author of a best-selling collection of short stories called Bad Feminist, said: 'Margaret Atwood! What a thing to write something so prescient and timeless and horrifying and brilliant.'