I think it’s fair. When a clone of your product is funded by the same entity that rejected yours, it's only logical to assess the differences that do exist.

Had she said “as a first-time founder,” I doubt the victim card argument would be raised.

When startups are fundraising or applying to incubators, there is no expectation of confidentiality.

I don't think it's fair to ewe to speculate on why YC rejected her company. What I will say is that incubators judge many factors into why they accept companies; and merely having a good idea, or good insight into what kind of product will succeed in the marketplace, isn't the only factor.

"Investors talk." It's perfectly reasonable to assume that investors would pass along good ideas that come from entrepreneurs who they don't think can bring them to fruition.

That being said, I do think it is poor form on ewe to play the minority status card. Most startups fail, so playing the victim when the odds are against you, just hurts your credibility.

It's very fair: YC bills itself as 'female founder friendly', if it turns out that you can't safely apply without your data leaking through to would be competitors that would be a serious problem. Note that there is zero proof for such a scenario but it is kind of odd that the OP applied there and that a YC backed company is now copying their business. At a minimum you'd expect YC to state very clearly that such a thing did not happen and that this is coincidence. That would put any speculation to that effect to rest.

I don’t understand why YC should object to fund a company that executed an idea that others also execute. Good ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters is the execution. If you execute well, your company will thrive. If everyone is doing it, maybe not.

Because they applied to YC with that idea. That opens a very large can of worms.

I think it opens a very small can of worms. It is uncontroversial that founders and execution count more than ideas and originality in a VC setting. This is perhaps cynical, but welcome to the competition.