//extend the A and B object with Backbone.Events methods var A = _.extend({name:'A'}, Backbone.Events); var B = _.extend({name:'B'}, Backbone.Events); var whosListeningToMe = function(){ console.log(this.name); }; //Tell B to listen for the whosListeningToMe event triggered on A, and then invoke whosListeningToMe B.listenTo(A, 'whosListeningToMe', whosListeningToMe); A.trigger('whosListeningToMe'); //logs B /* A has no whosListeningToMe event, but it still tells listeners that it's been triggered */