The phrase "controversial person" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe someone who is associated with causing disagreement or debate. For example: "John is a controversial person, as he is an outspoken advocate for gun rights."
"In this day and age," Pan said, "only a real person, a controversial person, can attract others' attention.
"I am a controversial person," said Ms. Bozzo, a 51-year-old divorcée whose two daughters live in California.
What was it like being in your first band, with the most controversial person in the country?
In the meantime, this "dangerous and controversial person" – to quote the phrase adopted by the court of appeal – remains in custody.
I don't listen to his programme but I know he's a controversial person with edge and my instinct about him tells me that this is very much in keeping with his personality.
Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas: Geez, judging by all the blogs, Cloris is probably the most controversial person ever to be on the show.
In 1953, the Eisenhower administration, responding to pressure from Red-hunters like Senator Joseph McCarthy, issued a cowardly directive banning the works of so-called "controversial persons" from the United States government's overseas libraries.
Yielding to the pressure, the State Department ordered its overseas librarians to remove from their shelves "material by any controversial persons, Communists, fellow travelers, etc".
The State Department bowed to McCarthy and ordered its overseas librarians to remove from their shelves "material by any controversial persons, Communists, fellow travelers, etc".
How else does a person write a book titled "I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It"? On Friday, Sir Charles appeared on Dan Patrick's radio show and commented on the most controversial persons in sports outside of whomever picked the teams for the Sugar Bowl -- ESPN analyst Skip Bayless.
The Scottish government's controversial "named person" scheme for supporting children has been delayed for a year after the supreme court ruled that data sharing provisions were in breach of human rights.
