okay, but did she come out and disavow the original story? or is it only when it became clear that she could not take false credit by remaining silent, that she "regretted" it? if people didn't start digging, do you think she wouldn't have tried using the "smart woman creates black hole" story to advance her career?

yeah, she absolutely didn't ask for this, but rather than immediately setting the record straight, she tried benefiting from it. I've seen many cases like this and none of them deserve sympathy.