The email alleged that an integrity issue was at play.
“We appreciate your understanding and continued support in this delicate matter. If you have any questions or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.”
When contacted by the Herald on Monday, Stone – known to a legion of TV viewers as one of the stars of the 2016 Bravo series The Real Housewives of Auckland – said she was consulting her lawyer.
The Real Housewives of Auckland (from left): Julia Sloane, Gilda Kirkpatrick, Michelle Blanchard, Anne Batley-Burton, Angela Stone and Louise Wallace.
Stone said issues arose after she was asked and agreed to help with another publication.
She would not name that magazine but said it was in the international luxury market space, rather than lifestyle.
“I’ve just been helping [Bennett] with her own business, and someone else asked me if I could help them. I said, ‘Of course I can’.”
In a follow-up statement in regards to the email, Stone said: “I am aware of the situation and am reviewing the matter carefully. I have always acted honestly and professionally and am considering the appropriate next steps.
“At this stage, I will not be making any further comment.”
The Herald has requested to speak with her lawyer.
When approached for comment on her email, Bennett told the Herald: “We probably don’t want to elaborate further … we just wanted to let people know that she’s no longer with Eye and Chinese Eye.
“She’s not an influencer, she’s not a rep, she’s not a creative director anymore for us.
“I don’t think I want to elaborate.”
Angela Stone has also appeared on the cover of Eye magazine in the past.
The Herald later put further specific points to Bennett, including the assertion that Stone had accepted work for another publication.
She replied with “no comment”.
Her company believed the situation had “nothing to do with the general public”.
“It is between customers of Eye magazine and associated parties of Eye magazine and Angela in her capacity as a subcontracted sales representative.”
Stone says on her own website that Eye magazine – which launched in 1997 – was “a lifestyle magazine focused on fashion, beauty, cuisine, horse racing, motoring, travel, house & garden”.
“I am the fashion MC and stylist for the magazine.”
Since the email, Stone said she had heard from more than 40 “clients and friends”.
“It’s been unbelievable.”
Stone and Bennett appear to have been close friends, sometimes posting images together on social media.
In July, Stone posted a photo of herself and Bennett on Instagram with the caption: “Spending the weekend with my beautiful bestie Vanessa … Years of friendship, laughter, and memories and still so many more to come. Grateful for this bond, the love and the good times we always share. Here’s to a weekend full of fun, connection, and everything we love.”
Stone appeared on The Real Housewives of Auckland alongside Gilda Kirkpatrick, Louise Wallace, Anne Batley-Burton, Michelle Blanchard and Julia Sloane.
She revealed personal issues about her life during the show, including a difficult childhood where she was raised by her grandmother. She has been a supporter and advocate for the Mental Health Foundation.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.