English Translation
When he was young, he was the talk of town.
Could someone break down what’s going on in this sentence?
取り沙汰される literally means “to be picked up as a case/topic”. 沙汰 means either “a criminal case/gossip/news” or “judgment on its legitimacy”.
彼は若い頃、よく取り沙汰された。= He frequently became a subject of gossip when he was young.
沙汰 in this sentence is not limited to unethical behavior or criminal conducts, but more likely to refer to romantic relationship or bold moves.
とやかく refers to a situation where some people say this and some other say that, and the subject of gossiping or criticism feels very annoyed. But とやかく and 取り沙汰される are an unnatural collocation. If you want to keep the expression of とやかく,
彼は若い頃、とやかく言われた。= Every single action and behavior of him was overly criticized when he was young.