I would do that with only a little heartburn. You have to do it, it's not going to work well the way it is. I did this fairly regularly when I worked as a mechanic back in the '70s.
I have an adjustable wrench where the hole in the back fits over the hanger well enough that you can bend it with that. Or you can use a regular box end wrench. I know other people use other tools, but this has always worked for me. Dropouts are pretty ductile.