Blake Lexington Cross

Question 1

Mr. Lexington, you founded HappyLand Toy Company in 2010 and have served as its Chief Executive Officer ever since.

Question 2

Is it true that following financial losses in 2024, the Board of Directors sent you a memo on May 15, 2024, warning you that your job was in jeopardy unless new, profitable products were brought to market immediately?

Question 3

In response to that intense pressure, you made getting Princess Beads to market your absolute number one priority, stating that "nothing else mattered"?

Question 4

When your chemists initially hit a roadblock with a safe sizing agent called 1,5-pentanediol you pushed for a faster, cheaper alternative?

Question 5

You ultimately approved the switch to 1,4-butanediol, saving HappyLand over three dollars per box in production costs?

Question 6

Before giving that final green light, did you personally perform any independent toxicological research regarding 1,4-butanediol, or did you rely entirely on a quick weekend email from your risk assessment officer?

Question 7

You marketed Princess Beads for children ages 9 and up, assuming that older children would never attempt to eat a toy designed for making jewelry?

Question 8

Despite coating the beads with denatonium to make them taste bitter, were you fully aware that children—especially younger ones—frequently put non-food objects in their mouths?

Question 10

On August 10, 2025, when Andy Davis called your office in distress and informed you that his two-year-old son Joey had died after swallowing Princess Beads, your first instinct was to claim the company bore no responsibility?

Question 9

Even after learning of a child's death, you waited until August 15, 2025—only after being pressured by the Department of Health—to officially issue a recall on the product?

Question 12

Mr. Lexington, isn't it true that your primary motivation for rushing the Princess Beads to market under budget was protecting your own position and company profits, even if it meant cutting corners on product safety?