Jussie Smollett

The cast of Empire is filming a big funeral scene for a major character who dies on the final season of the FOX TV musical. According to Twitter users, film crews were spotted inside the Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Friday.

Yesterday, rumors spread like wildfire that Jussie Smollett’s character Jamal Lyon met his maker and that Smollett was being written out of the show.

But 20th Century Fox Television and FOX Entertainment were quick to deny the rumors in a statement to @ABC7chicago on Thursday.

“The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of EMPIRE is patently ridiculous. He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”

According to ABC7 News reporter Rob Elgas, Abel Osundairo and his brother Ola Osundairo are now “under arrest” and are being held without bond.

Elgas tweeted: “The two potential suspects in the Smollet investigation ARE under arrest. They are not able to leave; police have them under arrest.”

The Osundairo brothers were taken into custody on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport shortly after they arrived on a flight from Africa.

A family member told police the brothers flew to Nigeria on the same day that Smollett was allegedly attacked in Chicago on Jan. 29.

Cops have until 5:45 p.m. today to charge them with a crime or cut them loose.

For now, cops say the brothers are classified as “potential suspects” and they have not been charged yet.

A police source tells ABC7 reporter Rob Elgas: “Detectives have probable cause that they may have been involved in an alleged crime and we are working to corroborate the allegations and investigative timeline”.

Meanwhile, according to sources, a lawyer representing the Osundairo brothers say they deny any involvement in the case. Additionally, Smollett told investigators the 2 men are not the people who attacked him.

Police identified the brothers after speaking with rideshare companies and taxi services to ID passengers who were dropped off or picked up in the area of the attack.

Investigators subpoenaed Smollett’s phone records via his wireless carrier – then tricked him into providing his own phone records to compare. Detectives focused in on the numbers he deleted from his phone records.

Smollett reportedly followed one of the brothers on Twitter.com. @CWBchicago tweeted a video of one of the muscular hunks doing a hand stand on a treadmill in the gym at Smollett’s Chicago condominium.

By late Thursday night, Smollett had scrubbed every tweet and Instagram post he made describing his attackers as MAGA cap-wearing Trump supporters.