"It was probably bad for my career." That's Ben Affleck, talking to Details about the fallout from his Bentley-, "Gigli"-, and pink diamond-sullied relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which ended with a whimper in 2004 after a fizzled engagement and countless tabloid headlines. "What happens is this sort of bleed-over from the tabloids across your movie work," says the comeback-minded star, who has been careful to maintain a low profile since settling down with Jennifer Garner. "You go to a movie, you only go once. But the tabloids and Internet are everywhere. You can really subsume the public image of somebody. I ended up in an unfortunate crosshair position where I was in a relationship and [the media] mostly lied and inflated a bunch of salacious stuff for the sake of selling magazines. And I paid a certain price for that. Then, in concert with some movies that didn't work ..." And by "some movies," he means "a lot of movies," including the aforementioned "Gigli," "Jersey Girl," "Paycheck" and "Surviving Christmas." Affleck is now keeping his fingers crossed that his well-received directorial effort "Gone Baby Gone" will erase the memory of his many Bennifer-era bombs. "I feel like this film is the linchpin for my life. My career. I have a lot riding on it," he tells the mag. "I want [the film] to work. Badly." And if it doesn't? "It's pretty simple," he says. "If people don't go see it, I'm [bleeped]."

It's turning into scalpels at dawn for Courtney Love and Sharon Osbourne. For weeks, the plastic surgery devotees have been trading barbs, a feud that began when the Prince of Darkness' more loudmouth half accused the Widow Cobain of supplying her son, Jack, with OxyContin when he was all of 15. Love has vehemently denied the allegation, offering up the clever riposte, "[Bleep] you, Sharon." Now, Sharon has launched yet another Love salvo, sniping to the New York Daily News, "I'm glad she doesn't like me. I only pity her. She's a virus. I don't want her anywhere near people I love. The cold hard fact is she's a has-been."

Mariah Carey may have an army of hairbrush- and blow dryer-wielding assistants accompanying her wherever she goes, but when nature calls, she requires a bit of privacy. The New York Daily News reports the cleavage-displaying belter's bodyguards attempted to clear out the ladies' room at the VH1 Music Cares event so she could take care of business, but two women already inside refused to be given the bum's rush. This prompted Mariah's minder to warn them not to be tinkle voyeurs, according to one of the non-budging bathroom patrons, who tells the paper, "One of the bodyguards said to us, 'If you're going to stay, you better not watch Mariah pee.'"

Denise Richards and photo ops go together like Carrot Top and scarily arched eyebrows, but it seems she nixed the chance to strike a pose in exchange for a brand new car. According to the New York Daily News, the custody-battling ex of Charlie Sheen was a no-show at the grand opening of the Manhattan Volvo Showroom Thursday night. "There was a contract for her to be there, and she was going to get a lease on a new Volvo in return," a snitch tells the paper. Not so, says Denise's rep, who insists she was never committed to what sounds like a real career-boosting event. The flack says the actress' manager "passed on [the offer] right away," adding for good measure, "We never even asked Denise; there was no contract. She's not in New York." Volvo managed to round up a classier if less flashy replacement: Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden.

In related brush-off news, did Eva Longoria diss the organizers of the 25th anniversary of the annual Macy's Passport HIV/AIDS charity event? That's the word from E! Online's Ted Casablanca, who claims that "at the very last minute possible" the "Desperate Housewives" diva bailed out of presenting an award to Elizabeth Taylor at the fundraising fete. "We could kill [Longoria]," gripes an irate insider. But Eva's rep denies she committed to the soiree, telling Ted, "It was never official." The flack then unwisely offers that Longoria really wanted to participate, but hems and haws when asked why she didn't, vaguely explaining that "she was trying to see if she could but then, she couldn't" for reasons unknown.

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