Writer/Actor Mike White & Dad Join Amazing Race

The School of Rock screenwriter will be competing on the Amazing Race with his father, a former Evangelical who was a speechwriter for Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson before he came out of the closet.

The weird thing is that the new season of Amazing Race — which premieres on February 15 on CBS — isn’t a celebrity edition. Mike and Mel White are just “huge fans” of the show. They also happen to be an incredibly interesting family, not only because both men are prolific writers, but because of their openness about their respective sexual preferences, especially given their Right background.

Mel is a clergyman and author who used to write speeches, in addition to several books, for Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. (According to his Wikipedia page, he never condemned homosexuality in those writings.) He got married and had two kids, but confessed to his wife that he was into dudes. He tried a bunch of “cures,” like “pray the gay away,” psychotherapy, electroshock therapy, and even exorcism. When none of those worked, he and his wife divorced amicably. He officially came out in 1994, and he’s currently married to his partner he’s been with for 27 years. He’s now a gay activist and full-time minister for LGBT Christians.

Mike wrote and acted in movies like Chuck & Buck, Orange County, and The Good Girl. He’s openly bisexual. On the Amazing Race website, Mike describes himself as, “entertaining, thoughtful and ridiculously pale.” We hope the pair make it far, because he’s probably gonna say the best shit.