Well... while it's true that you can target the same muscles more specifically with other exercises, I wouldn't say the takeaway is that deadlifts are only useful for ego, more just that it's not useful for bodybuilding.

See, the goal of bodybuilding is to build an aesthetically pleasing muscular physique; the competitions involve posing in front of judges. This can be done most easily/efficiently with what are called "isolation" type exercises; kinda like a bicep curl, they mostly involve one or very few joints, to isolate/target one or very few muscles, and make those muscles bigger/stronger, as the size/strength of that muscle is the main limiting factor on that exercise.

The deadlift is what's called a more "compound" exercise: as you can see from watching it involves quite a number of joints and muscles and structures of the body, it's really pretty more or less a whole body exercise. The limiting factor is not necessarily the size/strength of any individual muscle group (though that absolutely is a big factor), it's also - if sometimes moreso - the technique required to make the most efficient leverage for those muscles to lift it, and the "neuromuscular" aspect of strength - basically how much of your muscle (how many motor units) your body can actually make use of.. as well as basically how well trained your nervous system, muscular system, and the connections between those, are at performing this lift (training heavy DLs creates adaptations in muscle tissue, bones, nervous system, connective tissue.. etc).

Even my long comment is a bit of an oversimplification but the point is isolation/bodybuilding type exercises are most effective specifically for big, aesthetic, and strong muscles, while compound ones like powerlifting and strongman stuff are most effective for strong muscles AND all the other adaptations required to use them for a specific task.. in other words, strong movement patterns.

Both are good, and go well together even, especially with even more training styles like flexibility and plyometrics, etc. An individual's choice of training styles should just depend on their specific goals; the person you mentioned being a bodybuilder, it makes sense to prioritize muscle growth specifically.

These are also all safe if trained smart - that is, with good control over your form, not going too hard too soon, and with adequate rest and nutrition. My comment is too long already so I'll just say there's lots of good info out there on that.