Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, bestows a civility award on CNN's Van Jones.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, bestows a civility award on CNN's Van Jones.

The CNN contributor has a track record of making controversial remarks.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos presented CNN contributor Van Jones with the "Courage and Civility Award" and $100 million on Tuesday.

Bezos announced the prize while promoting his privately financed Blue Origin space mission, with which he planned to honour Van Jones and chef José Andrés. The Amazon entrepreneur said he gave these two the prize because of their "bravery" and efforts to be "unifiers" in a split society.

Bezos stated, "We need unifiers, not vilifiers." "We need people who will fight tooth and nail for what they believe in. But they always do it in a respectful manner, never using ad hominem assaults. Regrettably, we live in a world where this is far from reality. We do, however, have role models."

In a live CNN broadcast hosted by Anderson Cooper, Jones accepted the prize.

"You took a chance on me, and I thank you," Jones remarked.

The prize is part of a charitable effort in which one individual is given $100 million to contribute to organisations or foundations of their choice.

"They can donate the entire sum to their chosen charity. They can also divide the money. It is entirely up to them "According to Bezos.

Jones' acceptance of the prize comes after years of contentious and divisive remarks from the CNN pundit.

"For many of us, it's difficult to be a parent tonight. You tell your children not to be bullies. You teach your children not to be bigots... Then there's this...how am I going to explain this to my kids?" Jones stated in 2016. "This was referred to as a 'White-lash.' This was a retaliatory 'White-lash' in response to a changing country. In part, it was a 'White-lash' against a Black president."

"I viewed this as a psychotically nonsensical speech with cookies and dog crap," Jones said of Trump's State of the Union address in 2019.

Jones has been as vehement in his attacks on other Republican lawmakers. Following Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina's reaction to President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address,

"With that stated," Jones added, "there's a reason they put him up." "He's the greatest option they have. He can deliver that message, talk about it, and attempt to smooth out all the Republican rubbish without the rough edges better than the others."

In a 2018 CNN programme, Jones again compared the National Rifle Association to the Ku Klux Klan.

"As a result, you now have a whole generation of young people who regard the NRA as their adversary. To them, the NRA is akin to the Ku Klux Klan."

After Jeff Bezos and three others were launched aboard a "New Shepard" capsule financed by Bezos, the prize was announced. Following the journey, Bezos praised his Amazon customers and staff for helping to make the trip to space possible, which drew criticism from a number of quarters.

Van Jones, for example, has previously described former President Donald Trump's election victory as "a White-lash against a Black president."